Father of 4 was drinking 18 beers a day before a near deadly shootout with Pasco police
A Pasco man allegedly was drinking 18 beers a day before getting into a shootout with officers that left him and a woman injured.
The Eastern State Hospital psychiatric evaluation of Jose Jara-Delacruz provided more details into what happened before the Dec. 7 confrontation at the Lakeview Manufactured Home Community on Road 40.
Jara-Delacruz, 49, has pleaded innocent to charges of attempted first-degree murder for holding the woman at gunpoint before shooting at Pasco Officer Ana Ramos.
The woman, Maria Vargas-Gomez, and Jara-Delacruz, were both found wounded following the shootout.
Police have not said whether she or Jara-Delacruz were responsible for Vargas-Gomez’s injuries, but according to a state psychologist’s report police said Jara-Delacruz shot the woman and then shot himself.
Court documents are not clear about the relationship between Vargas-Gomez and Jara-Delacruz.
About two months after Jara-Delacruz’s arrest, a judge ordered the state psychiatric evaluation to determine whether he understood the court proceedings.
State psychologist Nathan Henry reported that Jara-Delacruz suffers from an alcohol and amphetamine use disorder, but he now understands the roles of his attorney, the judge and the prosecutor with some explanation. Henry concluded that Jara-Delacruz is competent. His trial is scheduled for Sept. 13.
The Regional Special Investigations Unit, which investigates officer-involved use of force incidents, is continuing its investigation into whether Officer Ramos broke any laws or procedures when she fired her gun during the hostage confrontation.
Pasco shooting
In December, Pasco police were called to the Road 40 neighborhood about 11:45 p.m. for a disturbance. Four Pasco officers, including Ramos, responded.
When officers arrived, they heard the sound of the fight coming from the manufactured home. The door was locked when they tried to enter the enclosed porch.
After opening the door, they allegedly found Jara-Delacruz holding a pistol to Vargas-Gomez’s head. As officers challenged the man, he allegedly turned the gun toward them, according to court documents.
Investigators said he exchanged gunfire with Ramos as all the officers started to backed away to safety.
The officers heard more gunfire and returned to see Vargas-Gomez and Jara-Delacruz on the floor.
He reportedly had a wound to his cheek and a broken jaw and was treated at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle before being returned to the Tri-Cities to face criminal charges.
Vargas-Gomez suffered a head wound but her condition has not been made public.
Alcohol and drug use
The state psychologist’s report said Jara-Delacruz grew up in Mexico and started living “on the street” when he was 11. He dropped out of school with a second-grade education and never learned to read or write.
He had no prior criminal history, worked as a field worker and was married more than 20 years with four children.
Jara-Delacruz said he started regularly using methamphetamine when he was 20 but said he stopped five to six years ago. He also used cocaine about three or four days before the confrontation.
He couldn’t remember if he used illicit substances before the incident, but he remembered he’d been drinking. He told the psychologist he drank for five consecutive months leading up to the attack.
“He noted that he was drinking approximately 18 beers per day. At work, he would drink from a bottle of tequila because it was ‘easier to hide,’” Henry said.
Henry concluded that Jara-Delacruz was able to understand the roles of the judge, prosecutor and defense attorney, after Henry explained them to him.
“Mr. Jara-Delacruz demonstrated adequate capacity to understand and retain information that was provided to him regarding legal proceedings,” he wrote. “There was no evidence of mental disorder or deficit that would be expected to impair his capacity to assist his attorney in his defense.”
